The objective of this paper was to investigate the utility of the Ginzberg developmental model for explaining differences in the types or occupational status of the role models of Negro and white rural youth at two stages of adolescence. Data were obtained from 484 youth residing in East Texas in their sophomore and senior years in high school. In the patterns that did not differ over time, the findings indicated that Negro boys selected more teachers and glamour figures as role models than did the white boys, that white boys chose more relatives, and that white boys had a more diverse selection pattern than did their Negro age cohorts. In patterns that did differ over time for Negro and white girls, it was found that whereas the white girls had a slightly more diverse selection pattern than did the Negro girls in 1966, the opposite was true in 1968. Additional conclusions were that more white boys than Negro boys chose occupational role models who were owners or managers of a farm or ranch, but the difference decreased over time; that more white girls than Negro girls selected housewives as role models; and that, although occupational role models in professional or related areas were equally popular among both Negro and white respondents in 1966, more Negro girls than white girls chose this type of role model in 1968. (HBC)